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Reminiscing the "Miracle of '91"

About a year from now, the Philippines will host the 23rd edition of the South East Asian Games. The last time the country hosted this biennial event was way back in 1991 where it had its best ever finish of 91 golds, 62 silvers and 82 bronzes (237 medals), just second only to Indonesia's 92 golds, 86 silvers and 69 bronzes (247 medals).

I'm sure that many of us here were already born at that time or were old enough to remember the unforgettable moments of the 16th SEA Games.

Can you still remember the opening and closing ceremonies? Who was the official mascot? What about our Men's national team composed of the finest amateur players that regained our basketball supremacy in SEA? The swimmers that made the big splash in the pool? Or the mighty boxing team that won eight gold medals? What do you remember the most during this games? What about your favorite winning moments?

i still remember the 91 SEA games here in manila, volunteer then sa MANSOC (organizing commitee) we almost swept all the golds sa boxing, 1 or 2 medals lang yata di nakuha. then we brought in all those american trained athletes the likes of sila najera, buhain, thompson (swimming) edward lasquete (pole v)..we actually had a chance to tie or win by 1 gold on the last event kung nanalo lang yung marathon runners natin.

I remember....we could have won the overall title if not for some missed ( cruel misses) opportunities.

1. In weightlifiting/ superheavy div, Jaime Sebastian dislocated his right (?) shoulder during his earlier lifts. He was a favored to pocket 3 golds - snatch, jerk and total. Until that fateful injury he was undefeated in the SEAGames. That Manila Games was to be his farewell competition, unfortunately he had to retire on a sad note.

2. In the men's tennis doubles, Roland So suffered terrible cramps in the earlier rounds, w/c prevented him from playing in the finals w/ Felix Barrientos. That doubles tandem was deemed
unbeatable. I was fortunte enough to get a seat on the bleacher section, saw the pain in Roland So' face when the cramps occured....mangiyak-iyak ang mga nanonood. Alam namin na the gold just slipped away.

3. In the women's marathon, in the last 10k, 3 runners were in contention. Was following the race on the radio....2 Pinays and 1 Indonesian were left in the lead pack. The Indonesian won the gold. But the according to the commentator, we could have won the gold if only our 2 runners run a tactical race. Where, one would set the pace, and let the other reserve her strenght for the sprint finish for the gold. But what happened was, the 2 were running their "separate races". Ayun, iniwanan ng Indonesian!

That's 5 missed golden opportunites!

But there were a lot good memories....

Matindi yung crowd sa swimming venue. Entrance was free. So laging siksikan ang mga tao. On this first night of competition, pwede ka pang maglabas-pasok sa venue. But with the successes on the first day, sa mga sumunod na araw DINUMOG yung RMC pool. Organizers had to detail more guards than necessary. Tulakan at siksikan na. Pag ikaw ay nasa loob na, di ka na pababalikin pag gusto mong lumabas. By the 3rd day, as early as 2pm people were in line for the final scheduled at about 6 or 7 pm. That swimming team was the Philippines most glamorous in that '91 Games.

Sa volleyball. As a comparison, I know many among us experienced the Leila Baros phenomena in the World Grand Prix. Nung '91 games, there was no singular star in the event, BUT the reception of the crowd to the EVENT was much better! This is both for men and women. Jampacked and Ninoy Aquino Stadium. Standing room...daig pa ang kahit anong local basketball championship event held there, before and since then.

Then, yung "bayanihan spirit" came alive in a different way. Sa hapon hanggang gabi, sabay-sabay ang mga games. Wala pang cellphones nuon. Pero, if you are seating in the bleacher section of the tennis courts, you can communicate by sign language or simply by shouting with the crowd at the swimming venue, as well as the events held inside the basketball stadium. Then yung mga nasa swimming, kahit papaano they would see the events at the track oval....Kaya kahit papano, sa pamamagitan ng sigawan at senyas, alam mo kung may nanalo na Pinoy sa ibang labanan! Ibang klase yung sharing ng info and updates. Ang kagalingan pa, walang "kuryenteng balita". Pag sinabing panalo, panalo! Pag sinabing talo- talo!

I suggest to you guys, when the SeaGames comes in '05, if you are working - go on leave ( I will !) and watch the games. Kung pwede kang mag-volunteer - do so! Yung mga estudyante, in '91, classes in the whole Metro Manila were suspended. I hope the same will be done, so the students can see the games and experience the excitement...the thrill..even the pain of competition.

Originally posted by oscar3 I remember....we could have won the overall title if not for some missed ( cruel misses) opportunities.

1. In weightlifiting/ superheavy div, Jaime Sebastian dislocated his right (?) shoulder during his earlier lifts. He was a favored to pocket 3 golds - snatch, jerk and total. Until that fateful injury he was undefeated in the SEAGames. That Manila Games was to be his farewell competition, unfortunately he had to retire on a sad note.

2. In the men's tennis doubles, Roland So suffered terrible cramps in the earlier rounds, w/c prevented him from playing in the finals w/ Felix Barrientos. That doubles tandem was deemed
unbeatable. I was fortunte enough to get a seat on the bleacher section, saw the pain in Roland So' face when the cramps occured....mangiyak-iyak ang mga nanonood. Alam namin na the gold just slipped away.

3. In the women's marathon, in the last 10k, 3 runners were in contention. Was following the race on the radio....2 Pinays and 1 Indonesian were left in the lead pack. The Indonesian won the gold. But the according to the commentator, we could have won the gold if only our 2 runners run a tactical race. Where, one would set the pace, and let the other reserve her strenght for the sprint finish for the gold. But what happened was, the 2 were running their "separate races". Ayun, iniwanan ng Indonesian!

That's 5 missed golden opportunites!

But there were a lot good memories....

Matindi yung crowd sa swimming venue. Entrance was free. So laging siksikan ang mga tao. On this first night of competition, pwede ka pang maglabas-pasok sa venue. But with the successes on the first day, sa mga sumunod na araw DINUMOG yung RMC pool. Organizers had to detail more guards than necessary. Tulakan at siksikan na. Pag ikaw ay nasa loob na, di ka na pababalikin pag gusto mong lumabas. By the 3rd day, as early as 2pm people were in line for the final scheduled at about 6 or 7 pm. That swimming team was the Philippines most glamorous in that '91 Games.

Sa volleyball. As a comparison, I know many among us experienced the Leila Baros phenomena in the World Grand Prix. Nung '91 games, there was no singular star in the event, BUT the reception of the crowd to the EVENT was much better! This is both for men and women. Jampacked and Ninoy Aquino Stadium. Standing room...daig pa ang kahit anong local basketball championship event held there, before and since then.

Then, yung "bayanihan spirit" came alive in a different way. Sa hapon hanggang gabi, sabay-sabay ang mga games. Wala pang cellphones nuon. Pero, if you are seating in the bleacher section of the tennis courts, you can communicate by sign language or simply by shouting with the crowd at the swimming venue, as well as the events held inside the basketball stadium. Then yung mga nasa swimming, kahit papaano they would see the events at the track oval....Kaya kahit papano, sa pamamagitan ng sigawan at senyas, alam mo kung may nanalo na Pinoy sa ibang labanan! Ibang klase yung sharing ng info and updates. Ang kagalingan pa, walang "kuryenteng balita". Pag sinabing panalo, panalo! Pag sinabing talo- talo!

I suggest to you guys, when the SeaGames comes in '05, if you are working - go on leave ( I will !) and watch the games. Kung pwede kang mag-volunteer - do so! Yung mga estudyante, in '91, classes in the whole Metro Manila were suspended. I hope the same will be done, so the students can see the games and experience the excitement...the thrill..even the pain of competition.

The Philippines had its best performance in boxing at the 16th SEA Games held here in 1991. Our local pugs took home eight of the 12 gold medals at stake. Except for Onyok Velasco who won the pinweight division I can't exactly recall who were the other gold medal winners back then. Some active boxers during that period were Roel Velasco, Roberto Jalnaiz, Charlie Balena, Isidro Vicera, Romeo Lavega, Ernesto Coronel, and brothers Arlo and Ronald Chavez. Of course after the triumph at the '91 SEAG, the RP team was never the same again. The gold medal harvest in boxing dwindled to 5 in 1993, 1 in 1995 and 1997, 2 in 1999, none in 2001, and back to a lone gold in 2003. :boxing: :socool: